growing up
mom and dad, Donald and Wendy Cobain
born at Grays Harbor Community Hospital, Aberdeen, Washington
dad, a mechanic at Derrell Thompson's Chevron Station
mom, a waitress and homemaker
sister, Kimberly was born in April of 1970
attended Robert Gray Elementary School in 1972
he was happy kid in a typical American family
had an interest in music early in his life
began singing at the age of 2
1974, age 7, he was prescribed Ritalin
for ADHD - attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
1975, his parents divorced
he said it had a profound impact on his life
he became more withdrawn
lived with mom for a year after the divorce
then moved to Montesano, Washington (with dad)
and attended Beacon Elementary School
spent a few years bouncing between friends and family
he was a rebel and quite a handful
he idolized stuntman Evel Knievel
once he set off firecrackers on his chest, attached to a metal plate
dad pushed him to join the junior high wrestling team
he was good at it, but despised it
dad signed him up for baseball
he'd strike out just to avoid playing
he did drugs in high school
mainly marijuana
but tried most drugs available to him, except PCP
the stories he heard about PCP scared him
1983, sophomore year
he moved back with mom in Aberdeen
enrolled at Weatherwax High School
he dropped out of high school
mom gave him an ultimatum:
either get a job or leave.
After a week or so, he was living at friends' houses
sometimes he stayed under a bridge over the Wishkah River
inspiring the track "Something In The Way"
he worked odd jobs around Aberdeen
June 1985, he got his first apartment
later ended up moving in with Lamont Schillinger
May 18, 1986
arrested for trespassing
he was wandering on the roof of an abandoned building
September 1, 1986
he moved into his first house and lived alone
he made rent working part-time as a school janitor
circa 1986, he became addicted to Percodan (a painkiller)
he read a lot in the local library
had an interest in S.E. Hinton and William S. Burroughs
Kurt's philosophy included:
SCUM Manifesto by Valerie Solanas
The Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac,
and Perfume by Patrick Süskind
as well as works by:
Samuel Beckett,
Charles Bukowski,
Jon Savage,
and Camille Paglia.
Kurt focused on art in school
he would often draw during class
he had a gay friend in school
which caused a bit of bullying from homophobic students
he started to think he was gay himself
Olympia, Washington, 1987
Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic formed Nirvana
Kurt lived with a girlfriend, Tracy Marander
the inspiration for "About a Girl"
in 1990, they broke up
next girl, Tobi Vail
a drummer from Bikini Kill
she broke it off after a short time
January 1992, Nirvana appeared on Saturday Night Live
Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic "made out" as a joke
the segment was cut from the show, and was only shown once
as a teenager, he thrived in the punk scene
formed a strong friendships with The Melvins
a heavy influence of Nirvana's sound
Kurt had a small tattoo of a shiled with a "K" inside it on his forearm
February 1992, in an interview with The Advocate
Kurt claimed to have spraypainted "God is Gay" on trucks around Aberdeen
Aberdeen police records show that he was actually arrested for writing
"Ain't got no how watchamacallit."
[Cross, Charles - Heavier Than Heaven: A Biography of Kurt Cobain]
"I'm definitely gay in spirit, and I probably could be bisexual"
"But I'm married, and I'm more attracted to Courtney..."
"...than I ever have been toward a person, "
"so there's no point in trying to sow my oats at this point."
"If I wouldn't have found Courtney, "
"I probably would have carried on with a bisexual lifestyle."
1993, in an interview he said
"I remember feeling ashamed, for some reason"
"I was ashamed of my parents"
"I couldn't face some of my friends at school anymore, "
"bacause I desperately wanted to have the classic typical family"
"Mother, father"
"I wanted that security, "
"so I resented my parents for quite a few years because of that."
[Savage, Jon - Kurt Cobain: The Lost Interview]